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Ham and Macaroni

A baked macaroni dish with ham, cheese, eggs, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Ham and Macaroni

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Boil the macaroni in slightly salted water for about 1 hour.

  2. Drain the macaroni and layer it in a cake tin with the minced ham and grated cheese, seasoning each layer with pepper and salt.

Assemble and bake

  1. Beat the eggs with the milk.

  2. Melt the butter and pour it over the layered macaroni.

  3. Pour the egg and milk mixture over everything.

  4. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes.

  5. Serve directly from the tin without turning it out.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Parmesan cheese + milktop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,608 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the custard and set into a firm, sliceable casserole as they cook.
Milk
Thins the beaten eggs into a custard that moistens the pasta and sets softly.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory, salty flavor and helps the top brown as it bakes.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, coating the macaroni and carrying flavor.
Macaroni
Forms the bulk of the casserole, giving body and structure around the custard.

The step that matters

Pour the egg and milk mixture over everything. The custard must reach every layer so the eggs set evenly. Pouring it slowly lets it soak down between the pasta and cheese before baking, preventing dry pockets and an uneven, curdled texture.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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